


Wanderlust

by WinterXAssassin



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Eventual Relationships, F/M, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I have too many fanfics in progress at once, Mermaid Natasha Romanoff, Nat has a herd of cool water horses, Nat's ex is an asshole, Water, Why Did I Write This?, romanogers - Freeform, these tags are random, weird mermaid water horse alternate universe au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-27 00:51:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9942863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterXAssassin/pseuds/WinterXAssassin
Summary: Steve Rogers has always been plagued with what is known as 'wanderlust'. All he has the urge to do is wander around the countrysides, exploring things. All hewantsto do, however, is to settle down and live his life.One day, everything changes when he meetsher. The fiery-haired maiden without a voice.Natalia Romanova was the princess of an undersea kingdom of merpeople. She lived a happy, simple life, until her parents were murdered, and her asshole ex-boyfriend caused her to be stranded on the beach.One day, everything changes when she meetshim. The kind, gentle-mannered young man.





	1. Prologue: The Red-haired Maiden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So, once again, I have created a new fic when I have so many others to complete. Yay me. This idea came about when I was watching one of Markiplier's Subnautica videos, and I saw a creature with a mermaid-like tail. My muse wouldn't stop nagging me, and thus, I write this.  
> This first chapter is short simply because it's the prologue. The next one will be longer, don't worry.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Steve Rogers had it easy. Easy in the fact that he had a decent amount of money - neither rich nor poor - which enabled him to come and go as he please. Except, of course, it was not as he pleased - it was as he was  _driven_ to. You see, Steve had what's known as 'wanderlust', which is the urge to wander from place to place, until one's soul feels settled. The problem was, he was growing tired of this life. He wanted to settle down and start a family. Be a  _normal person_. But with the wanderlust raging strong within him, he had been a bit of a traveler for most of his life.

For the past two years, he'd been living in Ireland, travelling from place-to-place, until his soul settled a little and he bought himself a nice little cottage on the coast.

It wasn't exactly home, being small; consisting of a small kitchen, a lounge room that comprised of half the house, a bedroom, a bathroom with a bath, a sink, and a toilet - not much room to turn around - and a little room that was more an alcove than a room that contained one bed; he'd dubbed it the guest closet. Not that he was expecting guests anytime soon, but hey, it was better to be prepared.

He liked it well enough - and even if the house was small for his liking, the land around it was expansive enough to suit his needs. He was outside every day, weather permitting, and he soaked up as much sunshine as he could gain.

Sadly, the past couple of weeks had been miserably wet and cold, and so he remained shut up in his cottage, only leaving to buy supplies whenever he needed them. He wasted the days indoors away by sketching and painting things - art was his passion, and he had a good eye for it. He planned to head out as soon as he could and find something interesting to sketch - perhaps an animal?

Once the weather had cleared up, he gathered up his art supplies and headed down to the beach, enjoying the sun on his skin, and revelling in the sound of the waves breaking on the rocks with a roar and a hiss.

He was about to set himself up on a nice outcrop from which he had a nice vantage point of the ocean, when he spotted something in a rocky crevice not too far away.

_What is that? It looks... like kelp. Red kelp. Interesting colour. Maybe I should take a sample of it._

He made his way closer, and then as he crouched down to get a better look, he realized that he was not looking at kelp, but instead, a red-haired  _girl_. Or, maiden, rather, judging by the fact that she looked to be about three years younger than he.

Yelping in surprise, he stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over the rocks behind him, and he realized that the maiden was unconscious when she did not stir at his startled noises.  _Perhaps she is hurt_ he guessed, moving closer again.

Intrigued, he stretched out a trembling arm, and with shaking fingers, he brushed the girl's arm...


	2. Lost Sea Princess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Whew, I didn't think I'd garner such exciting responses from the prologue - short as it was - alone!  
> I can now safely assure y'all that this chapter is gonna be interesting... and a little sad.
> 
> Only warnings are for mentions of rape. Just a mention - that's all.
> 
> P.S. I apologize for the poor quality of the image in the middle of the chapter. I have a shitty phone camera and I'm terrible at taking pics without my hand shaking.

[Check out these inspiring pins I've gathered for this fic](https://au.pinterest.com/winterxassassin/story-inspiration/)

* * *

 

When Natalia opened her eyes and realized that she wasn't in the same place as where the waves had dumped her - and that she in fact was no longer in the water - she began to panic, struggling to breathe. She thrashed around in the strange cotton sheets that entangled her body, and fell on the floor with a thud and a gasp.

_Where am I? What happened to the sea, my friend, beneath me, cradling me as I sleep even in agony? Where did my bed of rocks go?_

She guessed that there was someone else in this strange building, judging by the sound of running footsteps that her fall had garnered. When she realized that it was a human, she panicked more wildly, struggling to rise to her feet and get to the sea - but since she had never had legs before, she could not rise to her feet, and so wound up in a heap on the floor, distressed.

The redhead thrashed around, finding that not only was using her legs difficult, but also, she was hindered by some strange-looking ribbons of white cloth wrapped around her legs - they seemed to be some kind of bandage, perhaps, because she realized that her cut skin was no longer bleeding.

How long had she been out for?

"Whatever's the matter? Are you alright, miss?" A deep yet soft voice drew her attention, and she looked up, her eyes travelling up the form of a rather handsome young man, until she was staring into his kind eyes.

She shook her head, one hand clutching at her chest as she tried to gain air into her lungs, and she made - what she hoped was - a sloppy motion of waves. She had to get to some form of water, and quick. Otherwise she would die here in this room, and dry up like dead fish dry up in the sun when they have been dumped by the waves onto the shore. She had seen it enough times to know that she didn't want to end up with the same fate.

Thankfully the man was a smart one, and he seemed to quickly put two and two together, moving over and picking her up into his arms. 

As much as Natalia wanted to panic, she didn't... for some strange reason, she felt... oddly calm, curled up in the stranger's arms. He was strong, and she nearly snuggled against his broad chest - nearly. But her instincts kicked in, and she remained stiff in his arms, only relaxing when she was placed into a bath of water.

She closed her eyes and waited.. waited for the agony of her scales reappearing on her legs to kick in. 

Nothing.

The red-haired maiden opened her eyes and began to cry over the loss of her tail; silent tears because she had lost her voice. She felt the presence of the man nearby, and when she tore her gaze from her legs to his face once more, she saw genuine concern in his eyes. It was strange, because no man had ever wanted to help a mermaid. They either wanted to hunt her species to extinction - or do horrible, insightful things to them, leaving them scarred.

"Are you alright? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" the man asked, and he seemed frantic when she shook her head, pointing to her lips. She knew how to use a form of sign language, but it was of no use - he was a human and could not understand her. He kept asking her why she was crying, and she kept shaking her head in response. He soon seemed to gain an idea, however, and disappeared quickly, only to reappear not even five minutes later with what looked to be an odd form of parchment, and a ... very odd-looking quill.

"Here. This is a pen, and this is a pad of paper - write down what's going on and maybe I can help you." the man suggested softly, and Natalia took the pad and pen, finding it rather cumbersome compared to what she was used to.

She wasn't exactly willing to do as the man said, because he was a human, and most humans were either terrified of, or absolutely hated, her species. However, this one was different. He was so kind, and his voice so gentle, that she found herself actually  _wanting_ to ask him for help. Her parents were dead, the merpeople loyal to her parents scattered, and with no way of getting back to the palace due to all the guards her ex had posted around the kingdom... a human was the only way she could get help.

So soon enough, she'd managed to awkwardly scrawl out: 

She handed her rescuer the piece of paper with a trembling hand, and stared at him with big green eyes, figuring that he would probably wind up freaking out after reading what she'd written.

Much to her surprise, however, the man looked ...  _angry_ and concerned instead of confused and anxious like she expected. His blue eyes had darkened, and a crease formed between his sandy eyebrows as he read the note, before meeting her gaze. "Nobody deserves that. Whether mermaid or not." he said softly, his voice holding conviction. "I'll help you. My mother always taught me to help out a dame if she needs it - no matter fantasy creature or regular human."

Natalia dipped her head in a nod, looking at him gratefully. She owed him her life now, and she would repay him in whatever way possible.

* * *

"Now, I don't know about clothing," the young man - Steve, she quickly learned his name was - began, "But I don't exactly think that it's right for you to only have one item of clothing, and not exactly in good condition, either. And I don't know about what sort of clothes you'd like, or what you'd fit... so I'm gonna have to teach you how to walk so that you can come with me to the shops to get you some clothes. Does that sound alright?"

The red-haired maiden nodded, still looking at him with gratefulness shining in her eyes. Steve was so kind to her; so patient and so gentle, and she found his presence to be oddly soothing.

_I think he reminds me a little of my friend Clint. Oh Clint, I hope you have survived whatever Alexi has put upon you and your family. I hope Laura and the children are safe, too, wherever they are._

Steve gave her a kind smile and took her hand in his, helping her get to her feet, and supporting her when she felt like her knees were going to buckle, which caused a small gasp of fright to slip past her lips. "Don't worry Natalia, I've got you. Don't be afraid of falling." he assured her, and she felt his strong arms keeping her upright.

She turned her head to look at him, her green eyes wide again, and he nodded his head, giving her arm a squeeze.

"You'll get there, I promise." he said gently, and she gave him a tiny smile, relieved, before attempting to take a step forwards. She nearly lost what little balance she had, but Steve was supporting her, and so she did not fall.

She took another tentative step forwards, and another, and then turned around to Steve, making a soft, cheered noise in the back of her throat, eliciting a beaming smile from her blonde companion, and a word of encouragement.

It felt odd, walking on two legs on dry land instead of using her tail to swim underwater, but she was sure to get used to it quickly enough. After all, she had learned how to swim far faster than her parents had ever expected her to, and she was a good learner. And with Steve's help, she'd be walking on her own two feet in no time.


End file.
